This invention relates to an improvement of tab type male terminals to be provided on and electrically and mechanically connected to a circuit board such as a printed circuit board of various electrical instruments. This invention also relates to a method of mounting the tab type male terminals on the circuit board through the steps of feeding a lead frame having a plurality of tab type male terminals mounted thereon, cutting the tab type male terminals out of the lead frame one by one, inserting the mounting legs of the tab type male terminals into the terminal mounting holes in the circuit board and soldering them to an electrically conducting layer on the circuit board.
Such tab type male terminals are commercially available as ones for Faston connector (the trademark) from AMP Inc. of U.S.A.
There has been used an automatic part inserting machine for continuously inserting a plurality of tab type male terminals into respective terminal mounting holes in a circuit board. The tab type male terminals which are to be inserted by such an automatic part inserting machine are in the form of taped terminals or a terminal tape-like assembly comprising a plurality of tab type male terminals mechanically connected with each other in a spaced manner and having a perforation which feeding pawls of a sprocket wheel in the automatic part inserting machine engage.
In general, such tab type male terminals comprise a terminal tab body having at least two mounting legs provided intergrally with the terminal tab body to extend through respective terminal mounting holes in the circuit board of various electrical instruments.
The automatic part inserting machine feeds the respective tab type male terminals to a terminal mounting position by rotation of the sprocket of the automatic part inserting machine, separately cuts each tab type male terminal at its mounting legs from the terminal tape and inserts the mounting legs of the tab type male terminal into the terminal mounting holes in the circuit board so that they extend therethrough while grasping them. Thereafter, the tab type male terminal has the mounting legs bent on an underside side of the circuit board toward an electrically conducting layer thereon and soldered thereto so that they are electrically and mechanically connected to the electrically conducting layer.
However, since the tab type male terminals are physically supported on the circuit board only by the two mounting legs, they are mounted on the circuit board with relatively lower strength. This disadvantageously causes the tab type male terminals to be damaged at their leg mounting portions when connector female terminals are engaged with the tab type male terminals and are disengaged therefrom.
In addition thereto, since an electric current flows only through the mounting legs of the tab type male terminals, they have lower capacitance. Thus, the conventional tab type male terminals cannot be used for high capacitance instruments.